BUSY YEAR CATCHING UP ON PLAYERS LIKE JESS MEEK

     JESS MEEK with the trophies she won in the qualifying rounds at the Scottish women's

                  amateur championship at Longniddry in May.

 
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Jess Meek's terrific golfing year - highlighted by leading the professionals in the Paul Lawrie Scottish Ladies Open Tour Order of Merit for some time - is ending on a low note.
But, she has played a lot of competitive golf on both sides of the Atlantic in 2013 and it is to be expected that she is running a bit out of steam come November.
The Carnoustie freshman student at the University of Missouri finished T75 in a field of 96 players at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown at Stallion Mountain Golf Club, Las Vegas on October 28-29.
It should have been a 54-hole tournament but the second day's play was cancelled because of bad weather.
Meek shot 76-80 over a par-72 course of 6,261 for a 12-over-par total of 156.
Mind you, that was better than Scotland international Rachael Watton (Denver University) who scored 89-71 (whatever happened to the Mortonhall, Edinburgh player in the first round!) for 160 and a share of 85th place.
Denver freshman Jessica Carty from Holywood - Rory McIlroy's home territory, near Belfast - tied with Watton with scores of 78-82.
Individual winner by two strokes was Sirene Blair (San Diego State) with scores of 71-67 for a six-under-par total of 138.
San Diego State scored a double whammy by taking the team title, also by two shots ahead of Texas Tech, Central Florida and UNLV (Nevada-Las Vegas), all on the 581 mark.
Missouri (594) finished ninth and Denver (595) T10 in a field of 17 teams.
The previous week Jess Meek scored 81-76-74 for a total of 231 over a par-72 course of 6,275yd in the Pat Bradley Invitational at Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton, Florida.
The Scot finished 51st, behind all the other Brits in the field of 93 players.
Suffolk's Heidi Baek (Maryland) finished joint third with scores of 71, 71 and 70 for 212 - only two shots behind the winner by one, Coralia Arias (Florida International) who shot 69-72-69 for six-under 210.
Team-mate of the winner, Sophie Godley from Notts came joint sixth on 214 (70-74-70).
Jessica Gregory (Maryland) from Sittingbourne scored 81-71-73 for a share of 28th place on 225 with England international Meghan MacLaren (Florida International) from Wellingborough. 
Meghan had scores of 71-78-76 and like Jess Meek and others, Meghan will soon get a well-deserved rest with the winter shutdown of the US college circuit after a busy year, home and away.
Former Scottish girls champion Lesley Atkins, a freshman at Florida International, has still to show her best form in the States. She finished T46 on 230 with rounds of 78, 75 and 77 for 230.
Despite Jess Meek's disappointing scores, Missouri (873) managed to scrape home by single shot to win the team title ahead of Daytona State with Florida Intenational a close-up third on 876 in a field of 17 teams.